A short statement explaining the cancellations was posted on the band's website. "This was a difficult decision for us to make as a band," the statement reads. "We don’t want to penalize our fans in North Carolina by not performing for them, but in the end it comes down to what we feel is morally right."

Maroon 5 joins the growing ranks of musicians scratching North Carolina off their tour list to protest the anti-LGBT law, including Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Nick Jonas. But there are others who are using their performances as protests in themselves, such as Against Me!'s transgender frontwoman Laura Jane Grace, who burned her birth certificate on stage at a show in the state.